Tarnished History

Virtually every discussion regarding used-car buying these days mentions the necessity of a title search to see if a vehicle’s been in an accident, salvaged or flood-damaged; the title search is especially important in the wake of last October’s superstorm Sandy. How critical is it? A recent study conducted by the website CarGurus.com in Cambridge, Mass., found that that roughly 16 percent of used cars listed for sale in the U.S. shows an accident on record. What’s more, 22 percent of used-car listings surveyed were former fleet-owned vehicles that were twice as likely to have an accident history as those owned by individuals. “There is great savings potential in buying a used car, but there’s also the potential to get burned if you don’t do your homework,” Langley Steinert says, CEO of CarGurus. “A minor accident or prior fleet ownership does not have to be a deal breaker, but it is information you absolutely need to know as you consider the purchase and the price.”